Harvesting Tears
by LegendaryArcanine42
Summary: I'm doing this for Heaven and Earth's Autumn Contest... And yeah the summary's inside, not even gonna bother putting it here...


**Summary: **

It's been two years since the Fourth Shinobi War, the threat to the Shinobi World has been vanquished but Sasuke is still at large...

Naruto still blames himself for letting him get away, but he still valiantly holds true to his promise to Sakura, but will he realize that the promise no longer matters to Sakura?

Autumn is the season of change, after all...

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><p><strong>Harvesting Tears<strong>

_Clank!_

The brash, metallic sound of Kunai clashing.

_Thunk!_

The dull sound of Shuriken being embedded in the faltering deciduous trees.

He gasps for air, his body on auto-pilot and his mind going a mile a minute. Naruto, with a customized Orange and Black Jounin uniform, leaps from tree to tree, perfectly camouflaged by the golden-brown leaves of the forest. "Damn!" he whispers aloud, his frustration is clearly emphasised by the irritated scowl his features display.

"You'd think that after that peace treaty we all signed, that the other ninja would back off after a while... but no, there just had to be- Gah!" Naruto bitterly complained to himself, before having to let his instincts take over and somersault out of the way of an incoming Shuriken.

Now he's in trouble, they found his hiding spot and the group of enemy ninja advance towards Naruto, who couldn't help but sigh and raise his hands in the air. Unbeknownst to the cautiously approaching ninja, Naruto was not "alone" and his obviously hidden smirk was the signal, his army of clones needed, to jump out of their hiding places and incapacitate their enemy.

Whilst his clones were busy, Naruto moved ahead to confront their boss. On the way there, Naruto had to deal with a couple of enemy ninja but a couple of punches and kicks were all he needed to take them out, after a few more miles of sprinting, Naruto confronted their boss.

The boss was a big fellow, he wore a regular Jounin uniform and had the insignia for a village that Naruto did not recognize, and the only thing that Naruto knew was that he was going to be a challenge. However, some time during his analysis of his enemy, he was confronted by a couple of lower-ranked enemy ninja, but just like the others they were easily dealt with.

Confronting their boss with a cocky smirk, Naruto gestured at the boss to attack him, that easily enraged his opponent to do that and his size implied how powerful his punches were, but also how slow they were. Not even bothering to use any jutsu, Naruto sent him flying into a tree with a single punch.

Yellow and orange leaves fell from the tree, leaving a sunset of shame to gently cascade onto Naruto's foe, Naruto caught one of the leaves and examined it before deciding to make a rather horrid joke, "Heh, how the mighty have _fallen_...". The enemy grunted, though it was unsure whether it was due to the pain of Naruto's punches or his punch lines.

Entering a more serious mindset again, Naruto hoisted the giant of a man by the scruff of his vest and calmly, yet making sure that the threatening tone in his voice was heard, asked, "Where's Sasuke?" to which the man adopted a confused expression and replied, "Who?".

His voice straining to keep control of emotions, Naruto clarified his query, "Sasuke Uchiha... Missing-nin of Konohagakure..." the boss's face grew a wide smirk, "Oh, the Uchiha brat! Heheheh... He's dead, kid...".

Naruto stiffened, "Don't screw around with me...", the boss continued to chuckle loudly and then he slipped into unconsciousness, but Naruto wasn't done. "Damn it, asshole! Where the hell is he, tell me now!" Naruto's yells were heard from miles away, his voice demanding answers from someone who couldn't speak.

With every deafening silence that answered Naruto's enraged questions, his fury grew and his blind rage guided his sore throat to scream his questions louder each time. Tears threatened to spill from his burning eyes, and he had enough of yelling as he held his Kunai aloft and prepared to end the life of his silent adversary.

But a clawed hand stopped his mad conquest to satisfy his crazed wrath, "Naruto, stop this! It isn't worth it!" Naruto's arm twitched and his head violently turned to the owner of the clawed hand that stopped his self-righteous vengeance, "Where is he?" to which Kiba replied, "I think it's best if you follow me...", and with that Naruto calmed down slightly and followed Kiba.

After a brief walk, an already emotional Naruto had to deal with the sight of his former friend and pseudo-brother lying lifeless on the floor. A lukewarm pool of blood was formed around the wound of his body, but that was the only thing Naruto noticed in his mad dash towards Sasuke's body.

Solemn looks were humbly displayed onto the faces of Kiba, Hinata, Shino and Akamaru. Naruto was in disbelief, his entire mission- no...

His promise to Sakura was all for nought. He could never bring Sasuke back now, there was no way he could purge Sasuke's soul away from the hands of the Angel of Death. He couldn't place that soul back into Sasuke's lifeless body and live happily ever after, it's not possible!

For the first time in his life, Naruto gave up... "Sasuke!" he yells, hoping that the heavens may heed his cry and bring back his greatest rival, ally, friend and brother-in-loneliness. Tears fall like fountains from his eyes, he pounds on Sasuke's chest, and he tries everything to bring him back, but it's all in vain.

To make matters worse, Shikamaru arrives and as soon as he sees what's happened, he immediately tries to turn back but it's too late.

She sees him and she wilts.

The funeral service was short and "sweet", few words were said and those who knew him best stayed silent. But their tears spoke, and filled, volumes. There was a reception afterwards, but the food went to waste because no one felt hungry. Naruto's favourite food was on display and he didn't touch any of it, he didn't even stay long, he stayed silent and solemnly walked home.

Sakura had the same kind of reaction, but she made a beeline for her house as soon as the service was over. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, but it's implied that he was upset as well, the rest of the Konoha Eleven were rather solemn in their demeanour but no one was outright upset (except Ino).

Surprisingly, the funeral was rather uneventful; many people didn't have much to say about the once-idolized Sasuke Uchiha. Even his own peers didn't know him that well, the only people with a story to tell would've been Naruto and Sakura, but as mentioned before they didn't want to speak.

The next day, Naruto was called into Tsunade's office, he bumped into Konohamaru along the way, but unlike their previous meetings there were no enthusiastic pleasantries being exchanged, just two solemn looks. Trudging up the steps of the Hokage Tower, Naruto also met Iruka, who seemed like he had much to say, "Naruto! I really want to speak with you, if you have time would you like to have some Ramen—", "No, thank you Iruka-saensei, I'd rather not..." and with that Naruto hurried into the office, leaving Iruka confused and yet empathetic simultaneously.

Once he heard the all-too-familiar bark of "Come in!" from the Fifth Hokage, Naruto cautiously walked into the room, "Hey there, Naruto! Before we start, I thought I'd just let you know that I used a new lotion that is said to make you look and feel younger, so did it work Naruto?" Tsunade cheerily asked, comically gesturing to different parts of her skin, to which Naruto simply nodded in agreement.

Tsunade's jaw fell to the floor at Naruto's reaction, "Damn it gaki, I just set you up for a free insult! What's wrong with you?" Naruto just shyly averted his gaze and replied, "My apologies, Lady Tsunade...", Tsunade's jaw grew in size, if it were even possible, and she grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his vest as she accosted him, "Aw, hell no! Of all people, you should not be 'apologizing' and you sure as hell shouldn't be calling me 'Lady Tsunade'! What happened to 'Baa-chan!' and what the hell happened to Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's most loud-mouthed and hyperactive ninja—", "He died, when Sasuke died!" Naruto angrily blurted and roughly shoved Tsunade away from him.

Then Naruto gasped and assumed the Dogeza position, "A thousand apologies Lady Tsunade! I forgot my place and I—" Tsunade had enough and threw Naruto through a wall into another wall, "Don't screw with me Naruto, even Shizune doesn't do that! Y'know what? Until you sort yourself out, you're being relieved of your duties!".

Naruto simply sighed and replied, "Yes, Lady Tsunade, if that is what you wish..." and with that he limped away from the Hoakge Tower. Kakashi and Sai appeared beside Tsunade and with a very serious look on his face, he said, "I'm guessing that the meeting didn't go well..." Tsunade shook her head and replied, "I need to get some booze, the kid called me 'Lady Tsunade' and that has officially freaked me out!" and with that she left Kakashi with wide eyes and Sai was still shuddering from that imagery.

Meanwhile, Naruto was getting ready for his forced vacation, he sat by a tree and reflected on everything he did to try and save Sasuke. The more he did the more absurd his theories became... '_I could've been there with Sakura to stop him! I could've stopped him back in the Valley of the End! I could've broken his legs and stopped him from running, he's dead because I failed to save him—'_ "That's not true, Naruto, and you know it..." a feminine voice interrupted Naruto's train of self-hatred and Naruto turned around to see Ino trudge through the golden path of dying leaves.

Naruto was bewildered, "Ino? But how did—", "I'm a Yamanaka, remember?" she replied, with a proud smirk on her face, she continued on to say, "But I don't need to be, to know that somehow you're blaming yourself for Sasuke's death, you really need to stop doing that; girls don't like guys that blame themselves for everything... It's not cool..." Ino then sat down by Naruto and wiped away a tear that was forming, "When he left it was in the middle of the night, and the only way Sakura knew was because she was up at that time... Valley of the End, you did try to stop him and you tried your hardest, but he tried to kill you! You were lucky to survive, you idiot!" Ino then stopped and realised that calling him an idiot wasn't helping, so she decided to drop that particular part of the subject.

"But I digress; the rest of the conversation that you had with yourself was stupid... Break his legs? You can't even break chopsticks properly!" Even Naruto had to chuckle at that, glad that she could put a smile on his face she continued, "But the point of him being dead because you failed to save him is unfair on you... You're not in charge of his life, he is, and everyone is destined to die one day, that's just the way it is...".

Ino then caught a dead leaf that was about to fall into her hair, "See? This leaf died... But another one is destined to take its place, and then that one will die too... We're in Autumn, the season of change, and try as you might to stop it, things will change Naruto..." Ino then stood up and dusted off her outfit, "Go visit Sakura, Naruto... Maybe things will 'change'..." and with that, she left as soon as she came.

Naruto, with his resolve now hardened, marched up to Sakura's apartment but didn't find her there. He then went to the old training ground but he couldn't find her there either, he searched all over Konoha but couldn't find her anywhere.

Vainly hoping that he would meet her around somewhere, Naruto found himself at Ichiraku's and ordered a single bowl of Miso Pork Ramen. He was ready to pay for it, when Teuchi shook his head and said "It's on the house..." Naruto simply nodded in gratitude and a solemn smile went across Teuchi's face before he turned away to make some more Ramen for the next customer.

"Oh, so you are joining me for Ramen then... I'm glad you could make it, Naruto!" Iruka exclaimed with glee, which startled Naruto a lot. "You almost scared the crap out of me, Iruka!", Iruka's expression changed from a smile to a pout, "What? No, _Iruka-sensei_?", Naruto then turned away and muttered an apology, to which Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose and replied, "It was a joke, geez...".

Naruto, after finishing his noodles, quietly asked, "Iruka-sensei, have you seen Sakura?", "Louder Naruto, I can't hear you! I must be going deaf in my old age—", "Have you seen Sakura!" and that made Iruka frown, "Well, have you checked the hospital?" Naruto nodded, "Training Ground?" again he nods.

This pattern continued on until Iruka said, "Well, if she's not in any of those places, and if she's not here then she must be—", "On the Hokage's Monument, thanks Iruka!" and with that Naruto made a mad dash for the monument, and left Iruka with the bill for the other twelve bowls of Ramen that he ate whilst Iruka was talking, "Naruto!".

Gasping for air as he approaches the top of the monument, he spots a head of bubblegum-pink hair and knows immediately that it's her, she's staring over the edge and she gets ready to jump, but a blur of orange and yellow saves her. '_Was that the Spirit of the Autumn Leaves?_' she ponders, delusion drawing ghostly graffiti of an ethereal elementalist in her muddled mind.

She opens her jade-coloured irises and sees that her saviour is a lot more earthly and familiar, "Na... ru...", "Don't speak, just rest...", she closes her eyes and smiles for the first time since the funeral. He looks down at the gentle rose that he holds in his arms, and he gently lays her down on some soft ground, and he gives her his jacket to use as a blanket.

When she's awake, she tenderly gets up and runs to Naruto with bleary eyes, he hugs her back and whispers in her ear, "Don't do that again, I understand how you feel but it's not over... Sasuke wouldn't want you to go that way, and neither would I, he would want you to live your life to the fullest and to do great things... And I couldn't stand the thought of losing another one of my Nakama..." satisfied with the fact, that Sakura had stopped crying, Naruto continued, "You loved him, right? I could tell you that you did, even from the academy days... You probably still love him now..." Naruto ended, with a disappointed look on his face.

Sakura pulled away from Naruto and replied, "I did love him, but now he is just a friend I lost—", "So why did you try to kill yourself for him!" Naruto exclaimed, but he didn't mean to sound so aggressive whilst doing it, Sakura wasn't the one to blame, he was...

Sakura let a silent tear fall as she replied, "You might think this is stupid for me think of, but I felt like it was my fault... I should have done something to save him, but I was always in the background, being useless!" that ticked Naruto off; Naruto grabbed Sakura by both shoulders and shouted, "Sakura, you are not useless! You have saved both me and Sasuke, multiple times! You're smart, you're wonderful, you're pretty and if anyone is to blame for Sasuke's death!" Naruto then paused, as realization sunk in and the pain of loss that subsided in the last hour came back with a vengeance as he said, "It's me..." thankfully that pain was replaced by Sakura's fist colliding with Naruto's face and his back connecting with a tree.

Sakura cracked her fingers as the vein on her temple was throbbing again, "Naruto, stop being such an idiot! You were never to blame for Sasuke's death! Sasuke survived and got stronger because of you, he wanted to be better than you and worked himself to the bone until he was!" Sakura was still breathing hard from the effort behind the punch and the speech, and thankfully that got through to Naruto.

"Well, I guess nobody is to blame for Sasuke's death and that Ino was right, these things happen..." Sakura cocked her eyebrow in surprise, "Eh? Since when do you listen to anyone? Let alone Ino...", Naruto let out that infamous grin and replied, "Since she started being smart, she might even beat you Sakura!".

Sakura was slowly becoming her usual self, when a stray fist pounded on the back of Naruto's head with gusto, "Shut up, Naruto!". Chuckling away at the childish game that they still play, they both looked up at the trees and Naruto said, "I'm going to have to leave the village for a bit... I need to get stronger if I wanna become Hokage...", Sakura simply sighed and replied, "Well then, _Hero_, how long will it take you to get back?" Naruto smirked and with a amused tone in his voice answered, "Another three years...", Sakura jolted in surprise, "What?" and that got Naruto to laugh rambunctiously for the first time in ages.

"I'm joking, Sakura-chan, it would probably take me about eight months..." although that's still a very long time, in comparison to three years it would make anyone sigh in relief. "I see... So what brought you up to the Hokage's Monument, anyway?" Naruto got nervous at this point as he wasn't sure what to say, "Well, Sakura...There's something I wanted to tell you..." He wanted to tell her, but he just didn't know how to, "For a very long time..." He's just so nervous and she's so beautiful, he can't think straight with her smiling at him like that, "The thing is, I—" He doesn't know why she's making it hard for him, when she keeps moving closer and...

Their lips touch.

Sakura pulls away from Naruto a second time, but a warm smile in this cold weather, brightens up Naruto's bleak world, and just for confirmation she says, "Don't worry Naruto, I love you too..." Naruto, feeling more confident, embraces her one last time and their lips touch once again, tongues dancing and exploring each other's mouth.

'_He tastes like Ramen..._'

'_She tastes like Mint..._'

Then wordlessly, and without a trace, he disappears but he will return again. A lot like the Autumnal Equinox.

_He blends in with the orange and yellow leaves,__  
><em>_My emerald eyes would've been deceived.__  
><em>_If it weren't for his eyes that are blue like the sea,__  
><em>_That stood out amongst the dreary scene.__  
><em>_I gained a lover where I lost a friend,__  
><em>_But my sorrow and laughter both meet their end.__  
><em>_My love has blossomed where the leaves are dead,__  
><em>_And I shall forever wait for Autumn, again and again._

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><p><strong>I'm new to contests so bare with me on this one, I hope you'll enjoy it :D<strong>

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I am not the owner of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto is the owner and creator of the Naruto Franchise and I am very envious of him too...**


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